


Outshine me

by BlackRoseMii



Category: RWBY
Genre: Actor AU, Actor Clover, M/M, Slow Burn, Stuntman Qrow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25750915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRoseMii/pseuds/BlackRoseMii
Summary: Qrow Branwen was done with acting. He never wanted to be in front of a camera again. But he couldn't keep living day by day, without having a goal in his life. That's when he received a job offer as a stuntman from his old teacher. Just this one time, he thought, he could try. If only there wasn't Clover Ebi, the star of the movie, who seemed to be very excited to play alongside him.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. Job offer

Just a few more meters and the blonde girl would win. A few steps from reaching their goal and she would be the first to be there. With one leap, she vaulted over the stones dividing the sidewalk and the parking lot. She carved a path through the concrete towards the stairs leading to the viewing platform that the group had chosen as their goal.

A few more steps and she'd win.

But suddenly, she saw a hand gripping the railing in front of her and a person pulling himself up. After somersaulting gracefully over the railing, he landed just a few steps in front of a bench and after a last sprint, he let himself fall on the bench with a sigh and leaned back.

A moment after that, the blonde managed to touch the back of the bench, completely breathless and surprised about the sudden outcome of their race.

Her uncle turned his head towards the girl, flashing a cocky smile.

„That was close. You almost got me. I guess I'm not the youngest anymore,“ he said, barely a sign of exhaustion on his face.

Yang pouted for a moment before smiling again and shoving the man to the side so that she could take a seat herself.

„As if,“ she said, amusement in her voice. „You probably waited for me.“

Qrow chuckled when she punched his shoulder lightly. From behind, the two of them heard breathless panting and when they turned around, they saw Ruby making her way towards them with wobbly steps. She grabbed the back of the bench between the two and tried to speak.

„When did you-? How-?“

„Calm down first, then speak,“ her sister said.

The girl did as she was told and drew a few deep breaths. Soon, her breathing became even and she regained her ability to talk.

„When did you guys get here? I was right behind you just a moment ago.“

The blonde gestured towards the black haired man, passing on the question to him. Her sister followed and turned her head towards him.

„You guys just don't know about all the ways to get from point A to point B.“

„But I took the direct route! I even jumped over a couple of roofs!“ Yang exclaimed.

Qrow gestured towards the river in front of them as he continued.

„You were so focused on using a higher path that you forgot a better method. Along the river, less obstacles.“

The two girls looked at each other before moving closer to the edge of the viewing platform. They leaned over the railing and noticed the narrow dry path at the side of the river. It went from their position all the way through the city. At some point, he must have jumped down and was able to run towards the goal without too many things in his way. The high walls were the only thing he would have to overcome. Which he apparently was able to, seeing as he beat his nieces.

The girls looked back at him, frowning. They walked towards the bench and let themselves fall on it, making sure to squish the man between them.

„You better make up for this.“

„What? I was the one who won, though?“

„You cheated. Your route was much easier than ours.“

They continued to pester the man until he finally held up his hands.

„Okay, okay, I give up. What do you want?“

„Ice-cream!“ both of them said, a grin on their faces.

As the group enjoyed their treat – Two mountains of blueberry-cheesecake and cherry-cookie for the girls and single cone of chocolate-peppermint ice cream for Qrow – they walked aimlessly around the city, enjoying the gentle warmth of early summer.

„Seriously uncle Qrow, you're amazing! I never saw someone literally walking up a wall!“ the black-haired girl said enthusiastically.

The man in question shrugged as an answer.

„You learn that with some time and practice. I'm sure you two will be able to pull it off earlier than I did.“

„What? Flying?“ her sister added.

Their uncle laughed in response. It was a little weak, but there was some bashfulness mixed into it. He hoped the girls wouldn't notice.

Before they could continue their conversation, Yangs phone started ringing. Upon seeing the name of the caller her brows shot up and she picked up the call.

„Hey dad. What's up?“

She stayed silent to let the man on the other side talk, only responding with nods and short answers. After just a few words, the blonde turned towards Qrow.

„Dad wants to talk to you,“ she said, extending her phone to the man. Not knowing what to expect, he took it and held it to his ear.

„So, what do you want?“

„Why the hell aren't you picking up your phone?“ he heard Tais voice screaming from the phone.

„Woah, hey! I'm not deaf, you know?“

„Well, apparently you are. I've tried to call you for half an hour now! Why aren't you responding?“

„I haven't heard it ringing, though,“ the black-haired man said, giving his ice-cream cone to Ruby in order to search his pocket for his own phone.

„Ah.“

„What 'ah'?“

„The battery is dead.“

„The battery is-!“ Tai repeated in an annoyed tone, before sighing and continued.

„Your phone should be fully charged when you're out with my girls. What would you do if there was an emergency?“

„The girls aren't little kids anymore. And they've got their own phones. It's not like one dead phone would be a catastrophe. Whatever, what did you want from me?“

Another sigh from Tai before he continued in a calmer voice.

„I just got a mail from Ozpin. You still remember him, right?“

„Of course. Our teacher from acting school, right?“

„Exactly. Looks like he's making another movie and he wants us in the cast.“

„Tai, you know I-“ the man tried to start, but was interrupted by his friend.

„As stuntmen. You can do that, right? No acting required.“

Qrow furrowed his brows, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It took him several seconds to respond.

„I've probably gotten the same mail. I'll check it later.“

„Does that mean, you'll-?“ this time it was Qrow who interrupted.

„I'm just going to check it. I haven't decided anything yet. Anyway, if that's all I'll give you to Yang now.“

Without waiting for an answer, he gave the phone to his niece and took his half-melted ice-cream cone. The blonde needed another minute to assure her father they were doing alright and that they'd be back before it got dark. After hanging up, the three of them resumed their day off.

* * *

It was already dark by the time they returned home. Tai was already waiting in the living room, arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. Once he heard the front door opening he jumped up, making his way to the others.

Yang and Ruby greeted him with a big smile and he returned it. They spoke about how their day went and what they have been doing. Qrow went into the kitchen, while occasionally commenting on what the girls were talking about. He poured himself some of the leftover coffee, but frowned when he realized it had already gone cold. He put the cup away and returned to the living room, where he let himself fall on the couch, taking part in the lively conversation.

After everything had been said, the girls went up to their rooms. Even though they would most likely try to stay up a little longer, the exhaustion would get them soon enough.

The two men stayed in the living room. Qrow reached for the remote and zapped through the channels. At this time of the day, there wasn't anything very interesting on, so he decided to stop at a supernatural documentary.

After a while, the blonde man spoke up.

„So, you're not going to check?“

„That again?“ Qrow said in an annoyed tone.

„How long has it been since you got a job? You know you can't just continue freeloading. I know Ruby and Yang love to have you here, but do you really want this to be your life?“

The black-haired man shrugged.

„I don't see you complaining. Or do you want to kick me out?“

„That's not it and you know it. Look...“ he hesitated.

„Things haven't gone well with you lately. And I think working on a movie would get you back on your feet. Remember the acting school we all went to? You were so motivated back then. What happend?“

Qrow gave the other man a sharp side glance. He really didn't want to talk about that.

„Nothing happend,“ he said after a short silence.

„If it's about the acting, don't worry. It's just stunt work. We'll only do the dangerous stuff the real actors don't want to do. You can at least show up at the first meeting. Than you can think about accepting the job or not.“

The two men kept staring at each other, waiting for an answer. In the end, Qrow threw up his hands and sighed.

„Okay, okay. I get it. I'll take a look and decide then. Happy now?“

The blonde nodded and let Qrow go back to the guest room. Hoping he would really accept the job. It would definitely help him get back on his feet.


	2. First meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, it was the money that made Qrow accept the job. But he was sure this would be his last time standing in front of the camera. He had given up acting years ago and he didn't intend to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the chapter is so short, but I felt like this was a good place to end the chapter. Also, I have no idea about the movie industry and research didn't help much. So sorry if there are things that don't make sense.

It was way too early for the man to be out right now. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. Normally, people would call this a perfect day. But not for Qrow. No, he wasn't a morning person, so all this sunshine and happiness just added a new level to his grumpyness. And the excited chatting of his friends in the car didn't help at all. Well, at least his sister was equally annoyed.

Even after reaching the studio, they didn't stop talking. And upon entering the large conference room, the number of voices had skyrocketed. And it seemed like those were just the more important cast. Just how many people did Ozpin hire? One part of him was actually glad to see so many people. That meant he wouldn't miss one or two stuntmen if Qrow decided to ditch after all.

They waited for a while until more people arrived and Ozpin made his entrance. At his side was his codirector Glynda and a few others Qrow didn't recognize. They took their position at the very end of the room. The black haired man and his group took the seats at the opposite side.

After Ozpin greeted everyone, he started to summarize what kind of movie he was planning to make. It was a simple action movie, one you'd see several of each year.

The hero is an university professor for history and loves to travel the world. By coincidence, his coworkers find out about a relic that can answer any question. The bad guy – some sort of business man – knows about it as well and hires the hero to find it. Some typical action movie shenanigans happen, the bad guy reveals that he wants to use the relic for his evil plans and the hero has to keep it away from him. At the end, the bad guy is defeated and the relic now part of a museum.

It sounded boring to Qrow and he couldn't keep himself from yawning. Looking around, he could easily guess who would play who. You had your generic bad guys and a handful of nice but forgetable side characters. The black haired man was about to look for the Bond-girl type of love interest when he caught another pair of eyes looking into his direction.

It was a face he had seen before. Clover Ebi, one of the most wanted actors of their generation. He was in almost every high-budget movie he had seen and even in some B movies. He had a reputation of being diligent, focused and easy to work with, due to his friendly nature. He was definitely getting the role of the hero.

But why was he staring at him like that? And with that charming smile on his face. Was he looking at Qrow or was there someone standing behind him?

The man turned around to see if his guess was correct, but all he saw was a wall with nothing on it. He turned back to face the other again. This time the smile turned into a small chuckle, which made Qrow raise one eyebrow. This was the first time they had met, what would the golden boy of the movie industry want from him?

He couldn't continue his thought, since Ozpin started to give out the roles.

The black haired man was right with pretty much every role. Even down to his own. The stuntdouble for the villains right hand man. The actual actor wasn't someone well known, so he didn't bother to even look at him. All he had to do was take his place when things got dangerous and be done with it.

After some more stuff Qrow didn't care about, everything was settled and the people were free to go. The black haired man was one of the first to leave, but he still had to wait for Tai. He was the one with the car keys. And so he stood in the lobby, leaning against a wall and waiting. When he finally saw Tai approach, he stood up straight and was ready to go. However, there was someone with him.

„I see you've been able to make it here, Qrow.“

„Hey Oz,“ he said, his voice low in annoyance.

„Have you finally decided to come back?“

The man scoffed before he answered.

„I'm only here because the pay is decent. Don't expect me to do more than what I'm told.“

„That really is a shame,“ the older man said, sipping his coffee.

„You could at least look a little more interested. Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to someone.“

Qrow looked into the direction Ozpin gestured his mug to. He figured he'd get to meet the guy he was the stuntdouble for, but his guess was wrong. Next to him was Clover, the guy that seemed so interested in him earlier.

Upon closer inspection, his physique was broader than he thought. The times he saw him in movies, he always thought the costumes and props would make him look more muscled, given how agile he usually moved, as well the soft smile he often had on his face. But it seemed like all the muscle was really there. Qrow found it quite impressive and thought about what kind of workout the man did. Even now that he was standing right in front of him, he couldn't grasp how his facial expression would match his strong stature.

It looked genuine, that much he could tell. Which made Qrow even more confused.

The two men shook hands as the brunette started talking.

„It's nice to finally meet you Mister Branwen.“

„Same,“ the black haired man said, putting his hand back into his pocket.

„I've heard a lot about you from Ozpin. He praised you for your hard work you always put into your roles.“

„Oh, really?" Qrow glanced at the grey haired man next to him. He only sipped his coffee and ignored him.

„I'm looking forward to working with you. May I call you Qrow?“

„Sure, but I don't think we'll be working together that much. I'm just a stuntman.“

„And I do all my stunts myself. So we will have quite a lot of scenes together.“

Hearing that, he exhaled through his nose, looking at Ozpin once more. Again, he was very obviously ignored.

_Great_ , Qrow thought. Now he wasn't just coaxed into working on something he didn't enjoy, but he was also going to work with one of the best actors in his generation. Others might be thrilled, but not Qrow. He had given up on acting long ago and he didn't intend to come back. But now he was forced to work with someone who had the exact opposite attitude from him. It was ironic though. Their roles perfectly suited them. Clover was the hero, the one who always won and who'd be loved by the fans. While Qrow would be his counterpart. No, not even that. He was just the stuntdouble for the villains right-hand man, not even the actor. All they would be doing was fight against each other without exchanging any words. 

But this was okay. It would truly be Qrows final job in the industry. He had sworn to himself never to go back in front of a camera again. This would be the last time. After that...

What would he do after that?

**Author's Note:**

> Let's see how long it takes for me to finish this one ^^°


End file.
